INTERNATIONAL TROPICAL TIMBER ORGANIZATION

ITTO Projects Ex-post Evaluation Mission to Indonesia

Floriano Pastore Jr. and Youn Yeo-Chang

PROJECT PD 58/99 REV.1 (I)

“INTRODUCTION OF A VILLAGE INDUSTRY IN THE COMMUNITY

AROUND AN INDUSTRIAL FOREST PLANTATION IN INDONESIA”

EX-POST EVALUATION FINAL REPORT

Contents

1. Project context

1.1 Initial information

1.2 Terms of reference

1.3 The institution, period and budget

1.4 The problem to be addressed

1.5 The development and specific objectives

2. Evaluation scope and methodology

2.1 The methodology of evaluation

2.2 Approach for the evaluation

3. Findings and lessons learned

3.1 Efficiency and operational aspects

3.2 Effectiveness

3.3 Impacts and effects

3.4 Lessons learned and questions

4. Conclusions and recommendations

4.1 General appraisal on ITTO Project PD 58/99

4.2 Recommendations

4.3 Specific recommendation on the proposal for the second phase

ANNEX

A proposal of a diagram for general project analysis

I. The diagram

II. Increasing the probability of a project success

III. The application of the diagram and rationale to PD 58/99

IV. The analysis of the project under evaluation

Brasília, August, 2007

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ITTO PROJECT PD 58/99 REV.1 (I)

“INTRODUCTION OF A VILLAGE INDUSTRY IN THE COMMUNITY

AROUND AN INDUSTRIAL FOREST PLANTATION IN INDONESIA”

EX-POST EVALUATION FINAL REPORT

Floriano Pastore Jr. and Youn Yeo-Chang

1. Project Context

1.1 Initial information

This report is a product of the ITTO mission for the ex-post evaluation of the two

following projects in Indonesia:

- PD 58/99 Rev.1 (I) - Introduction of a village industry in the community around

an industrial forest plantation in Indonesia, executed by BIOTROP – the

Southeast Asian Regional Centre for Tropical Biology, one of the fifteen centers

under SEAMEO – Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization, and

- PD 85/01 Rev.2 (I) – Strategies for the development of sustainable wood-based

industries, executed by FORDA – Forestry Research and Development Agency, of

the Ministry of Forestry,

The mission was constituted by:

- YOUN Yeo-Chang, Seoul National University, Republic of Korea

youn@snu.ac.kr; and

- Floriano Pastore Jr., University of Brasilia, Brazil pastore@unb.br, and

fpastorej@gmail.com ;

Both members of the mission took active part in all steps of interviews and visits,

with Professor Youn being in charge of PD 85/01 Rev.2 (I) and Professor Pastore taking

the reponsibility for PD 58/99 rev.1 (I).

The mission work was carried out from the beginning of February, 2007, to mid

March of 2007, with a travel to Indonesia and field visit in the period from the 05th

to 16th

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of February, 2007. The main findings of the ex-post evaluation were presented at a

meeting held at APIKINDO – Indonesian Wood Panel Association, Jakarta, on the 15th

of

February, with the presence of project coordinators, members of the Ministry of Forestry

and representatives from the main private sector associations. This report was prepared

for the consideration of the joint session of Committees on Forest Industry and Market

Intelligence held under the 42nd

session of the ITTC in Papua New Guinea, from 06 to 12

of May, 2007.

IMPORTANT NOTICE

The Indonesian Government through the Ministry of Forestry, Bureau of

International Cooperation, commented on a draft of this Ex-Post Evaluation Report. The

comments are included in full under the commented parts of the Report, all in Section 3.4

Lessons Learned and Questions.

In fact they do not offer a different and conflicting position in the points

commented, adding complementary information which do not change the structural

points of the evaluation, and in that way, the evaluator keeps his point of view.

The Comments by the Ministry of Forestry and the respective answers by the

evaluator are within shaded boxes.

1.2 Terms of Reference

The following text contains the terms of reference for the ex-post evaluation.

“The Primary purpose of the evaluation is to provide a concise diagnosis of two

projects so as to point out the successful and unsuccessful outcomes, the reasons for successes and failures, and the contribution of the projects towards the achievement of ITTO’s Objective 2000, and to draw lessons that can be used to improve similar projects in the future.

i. To assess each project’s design and contribution to the achievement of their general objectives.

ii. To assess the achievement of each project’s outputs and specific objectives. iii. To evaluate the impact and relevance of each project. iv. To determine the effectiveness of technology transfer to local communities for

PD 58/99 Rev.1 (I) and the effectiveness of information dissemination for PD 85/01 Rev.2 (I).

v. To assess the overall post-project situation for the two projects. vi. To define and assess unexpected effects and impacts, either harmful or

beneficial, and present the reasons for their occurrences. vii. To analyze and assess implementation efficiency, including the technical,

financial and managerial aspects. viii. To recommend follow-up actions in order to enhance utilization of the

technologies and other results developed by the projects.

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ix. Taking into account the results of the evaluation, make an overall assessment of each project’s relative success or failure to summarize the key lessons learnt; and identify any issues or problems which should be taken into account in designing and implementing similar projects in future.

x. To prepare the evaluation report in accordance with the references for the Project Evaluation Report, as contained in the ITTO Manual for Project Monitoring, Review and Evaluation.

xi. To assess the projects’ contribution to the relevant ITTA objectives (1994) and relevant ITTO Action Plans.

xii. To prepare one or more articles for possible publication in the ITTO Tropical Forest Update (TFU), in consultation with the editor, containing an overview of the projects and summarizing the lessons learned from the evaluation work. Appropriate photographs should be provided, if possible.

The evaluation work shall be conducted in such way as to answer the questions

identified in the ex-post evaluation checklist provided in the ITTO Manual for Project Monitoring, Review and Evaluation (page 29).”

1.3 The institution, period and budget

The executive agency was SEAMEO-BIOTROP – the Southeast Asian Regional

Centre for Tropical Biology, one of the fifteen centers under SEAMEO (Southeast Asian

Ministers of Education Organization), which consists of ten member countries. SEAMEO

BIOTROP was established in 1968 and is based in Bogor, a one and a half-hour drive

from the capital Jakarta, where many research centers and educational institutions are

located, especially those concentrated in the fields of agriculture, forestry and

conservation. SEAMEO-BIOTROP has a complete campus and staff for research and

development, including laboratories and other facilities such as an auditorium,

dormitories and maintenance workshops. Its main activities are research, training,

publication, dissemination, consultancies and other services such as laboratory analysis.

The institutional support budget comes from the Government of Indonesia and projects

are funded by other sources.

The project was planned for a period of 36 months and its execution lasted from

January, 2000 to March 2004. The Project PD 58/99 scientific and technical staff

included two Chemists, one Silviculturist / Microbiologist, one Animal Food specialist

and supporting personnel. Not all of them are BIOTROP staff members. The local

participants of execution were the BIOTROP laboratories, in Bogor, at the PT.

Sumalindo company site and in the Teratak Village community, Muara Kaman, both in

East Kalimantan. There is a considerable distance between the SEAMEO-BIOTROP

campus, where the technical staff was located, and the place of the factory and the

community, both in the municipality of Samarinda. The total trip takes more than five

hours driving and a one and a half-hour flight between Jakarta and Balikpapan.

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The total budget of the Project was US$ 631,861, distributed as follows:

– ITTO, US$ 363,536 (Equivalent in local currency, approximately, 2.9

million of Rupia, or Rp 2.9 M);

– S.BIOTROP, US$ 180,000 (Rp 1.44 M) (in kind);

– PT. Sumalindo, US$ 88,325 (Rp 0.7 M) (in kind).

1.4 The problem to be addressed

The Indonesian forestry sector is undergoing a process of substantial change to

decrease the stress on the native forest because of the high demand of logs by the wood

based industry sector. A major component of this process is a reforestation plan, on the

way to reach the goal of 9.5 millions hectares implanted by 2012. Acacia mangium, E

ucaliptus spp and Paraserianthes falcataria are among the species preferred, because of

their versatile use for pulp, boards and so on. The aim of PD 58/99 Rev.1 (I) was to

enhance the benefit of industrial forest plantation for the village communities located

nearby, through the development and diffusion of appropriate technology for the

community members. This general goal was focused in a real situation, the Village of

Teratak, Municipality of Muara Kaman, East Kalimantan, close to one of the main sites

of PT. Sumalindo, a traditional Indonesian forestry industry group, and its plantations

which feed the MDF and plywood veneer mill plants located in that area. Most of the

inhabitants of the village are farmers in need of programs for job and rent generation.

Under the project, technologies should be developed for the target four products: tannin

extract, tannin adhesive material, fertilizer and pelleted feed stock. Following project

planning, the technologies and the techniques for producing such products would not

only be totally developed on a laboratory scale, but also be set up as pilot plants which

would then be transferred to the village members, who would run them as industrial

production to generate additional labour and income.

1.5 The development and specific objectives

The following paragraphs were quoted from the project proposal as development

and specific objectives, respectively:

“The overall objective of this project is to discover the procedures and the

equipment needed to use the bark of Acacia mangium, Eucalyptus spp., and

Paraserianthes falcataria as byproducts in the wood industry related to the Industrial

Forest Plantations to produce valuable and useful materials such as tannin, adhesive

material, pelleted feed and fertilizer. The technology introduced will be simple and

suitable to be operated by the villagers around the wood industry as a village industry”.

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• “To develop a procedure and to design equipment to produce tannin, adhesive

material, fertilizer and pelleted feed from the bark of Acacia mangium,

Eucalyptus spp. and Paraserianthes falcataria on a laboratory scale”.

• “To establish a pilot plant to produce tannin, adhesive material, pelleted feed and

fertilizer from the bark of those species that can be operated by villagers.”

In a more appropriate way, the development objective could be stated as: the

development and diffusion of technologies to generate job and income for community

villages around forest plantations, using waste residues of the trees. The specific

objectives are adequate as they are formulated in the proposal.

2. Evaluation methodology and approach

2.1 The methodology of evaluation

The project evaluation process has been carried out according to the normal

procedure of document analysis, visits, interviews and talks, followed by a period of

internal thinking and confrontation between documents and objectively verifiable aspects

and results, and finally preparing an evaluation analysis, followed by a presentation to the

executive agencies and representatives from the public and private sectors.

The following main institutions, people and places have been visited and

contacted during the field visits of the Project PD 58/99 evaluation process:

- In SEAMEO-BIOTROP

- Dr. Hilman Affandi, Project Coordinator

- Dr. Bambang Purwantara, Deputy Director for Resources Management

and Communication

- The Chemistry Laboratory

- The site for seedlings pot manufacture

- General visit to the campus

- In PT Sumalindo

- Mr. Astrik Mursatio Budi, Deputy Corporate Secretary

- Visit to the veneer mill for small diameter logs processing

- Visit to the bark storage depot

- Meeting with technical staff

- Mr. Kee Hack CHEON, General Manager

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- Visit to the MDF plant

- In the community village

- Visit to a resident of the village

- Visit to the community leader, Mr. Kartolo

- Visit to the inactive demonstration plots for charcoal making and for

composting

2.2 Approach for the evaluation

For some projects including subjective matters, the evaluation process may

become a difficult task and one has to carry out several interviews with stakeholders and

to gather detailed statistics and documentation to analyse the impacts of the project. This

was not the case of PD 58/99, which has a quite clear and unmistakable title as well as

strictly defined objectives.

- The title: “Introduction of a village industry in the community around an industrial

forest plantation in Indonesia”

- The two specific objectives:

- “To develop a procedure and to design equipment to produce tannin, adhesive

material, fertilizer, and pelleted feed from the bark of Acacia mangium,

Eucalyptus spp. and Paraserianthes falcataria on a laboratory scale.”

- “To establish a pilot plant to produce tannin, adhesive material, pelleted feed and

fertilizer from the bark of those species that can be operated by villagers.”

The evaluator in charge of this project, who has experience in such a rural

community approach and in appropriate technology development, set forward the

following questions,

- what can one expect at the end of this project, from its title and objectives?

The expected answer:

• Technologies being developed on a laboratory and pilot plant scale basis for the

utilization of the barks of acacia and other species, for the production of the

following:

– tannin,

– wood panel tannin adhesives,

– organic fertilizer compost and

– pellet feed stock

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and

• A village industry run by the community around the plantation of Acacia

mangium, nearby PT Sumalindo, making use of one or more of the above

mentioned technologies.

- what can be seen as outputs and results of this project?

• The following product technologies and/or demonstrations developed for the

utilization of acacia bark, that were expected within project planning:

– tannin production, on a laboratory and pilot plant basis,

– tannin adhesive for plywood, in laboratory conditions,

– organic fertilizer compost, on a lab and pilot basis with a demonstration

plot in the community, and

– pellet feed stock, in lab conditions, which was experimented in animals;

- Some technologies and demonstrations that were not planned as project outputs:

– charcoal, in lab and pilot basis with local community demonstration plot,

– charcoal brickets, in lab conditions,

– plant growth medium made of charcoal, in lab conditions,

– activated carbon from the bark charcoal, in lab conditions,

– nursery blocks, in lab conditions, with experiments in normal use with

plants,

– mushroom growth medium, demonstration of use, and

– handicrafts with bark, demonstration of use.

- what can not be seen as a result or an output of this project?

• “The introduction of a village industry in the community around an industrial

forest plantation in Indonesia”.

- why the target established in the project title itself could not be reached?

That was the focus and target of the evaluation, which had also the challenge to

lead the process in such a way to show to the executing body the question of inadequate

project design as a result of a misunderstanding of the original problem.

3. Findings and lessons learned

3.1 Efficiency and Operational Aspects

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Before continuing in the reporting of the evaluation, it should be clarified that the

The ANNEX of this Report, “A proposal of a diagram for general project analysis”,

brings a complete analysis of the project, including a proposed Diagram for project

analysis. It is advisable to read that ANNEX, before continuing the reading of this report,

for a more complete comprehension of the inadequate design resulting from a

misunderstanding of the problem, linking community, village and plantation bark.

There follows a brief resume of the structural difficulties of the project, fully

explained in the “Diagram Analysis”, in the sub-section 4.4. There are four major

contradictions: three in the object of work and one in the subject of the action (the

executing team), and two major difficulties:

Four Contradictions:

the first – the community around the factory cannot simply be changed from

primary and subsistence farmers to industry runners;

the second – the bark as part of the plantation belongs to the company;

the third – the technology and utilization pattern of the bark are not fixed

conditions, and can change if the company decides to change priorities; and

the fourth –the executing body is specialized in technological development and

not in social promotion;

Two major difficulties:

the complex question of technology development and using this to bring about a

real and sustainable change in the object reality; and

a logistic condition, the distance between the executing body and two parts of the

object, the bark yard in the factory and the community.

In a broad sense, the four project internal contradictions and two main difficulties

produced a general constraint in the attainment of the Specific Objective 2, related to the

establishment of an industrial village to extract the acacia bark for the production of

tannin extract and tannin adhesives. The project efforts were then directed preferentially

towards the more basic research and an attempt to find alternative uses for the bark. In

that sense, four products, which were not originally planned, were introduced into the

project as possible ways of bark utilization. At this part of this Ex-Post Evaluation Report,

the Project practical work will be reviewed and the possibilities of success of the various

technologies and products and their utilization by the community for the generation of

income and labour.

In general terms, for the studies on tannin extracts and tannin adhesives, and in

the sociological surveys, the executing team met some difficulty in the definition of the

strategic working plan, which had bad consequences for the results. Nevertheless, in all

other studies they showed consistency, intense work and meaningful results.

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3.1.1 Tannin extraction process and tannin adhesives

Extracts

For the execution of the main studies to reach the specific objectives − the work

on bark extraction to produce tannin, and from these extracts to prepare tannin adhesives

− the Project team showed some inconsistency in methodology for research and

development. There is a great quantity of bibliographic material on tannin extraction and

on wood tannin adhesives that should be the object of an extensive bibliographic review,

prior to the experimental work. From the Technical Report, it can be concluded that only

a rather limited part of the published material was consulted.

There is an important book, Black Wattle and its Utilization, by A. G.

Brown (CSIRO Forestry and Forest Products) and Ho Chin Ko (Research Institute of

Chemical Processing and Utilization of Forest Products, Chinese Academy of Forestry,

Nanjing), available for consultation on the Internet, that provides the up to date

knowledge of all aspects of black acacia, from the seedlings to industrial utilization.

Chapter 15, on the “Uses of Wattle Extract: Tannin Based Adhesives”, by Y. Yazaki and

P.J. Collins, is an especially important reference, among many others.

Another book, the “Contents” of which is available for quick reference in

electronic media, (http://lib3.dss.go.th/fulltext/C_Book/668/668.3PIZ.pdf) has a chapter,

“Tannin Based Adhesives”, with some 60 pages, with a special section on the

“Improvement of Yields in Industrial Tannin Extraction”. Naturally, the whole chapter

and especially this section are obligatory reading before commencing practical work, for

all those working in the area of bark extraction from any species, in the production of

tannins. A comprehensive bibliographic survey is an important part of any laboratory

work such as the one involved in the PD 58/99 Project. The right selection of experiments

will lead to the success of the practical work of the Project.

In fact, both subjects, tannin extraction and tannin wood adhesives, are not new

and they have been scientifically and technically developed since the 50s and 60s. Indeed

industrial tannin extraction is much older, having been used in Southern Brazil for more

than 70 years. In this context, one of the four references cited (Guangcheng et al 1991)

(in the Technical Report, page 23) is incorrect when it states that: “(in South Africa and

Brazil) villages carry out the extraction of the bark in small scale industries and the

products is (sic) exportable”. Certainly this is not true for Brazil. This information, if true,

would form the basis of the main target of the PD 58/99, to set up a village industry for

the tannin extraction. In fact, the production of tannin in Brazil, the world’s second

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biggest exporter, is made by no more than 6 companies ranging from medium to large

size, and the acacia tree planters, normally small holders, sell the bark to those companies.

There is no experience with village communities carrying out these processes.

Coming back to the methodology aspects, it should be mentioned that different

collection places were used for green and decayed bark so that they could not be

compared in extraction experiments. Furthermore, in the bark extraction studies, there are

inconsistencies between the lab conditions and the pilot scale. Quoting from the technical

report, both conditions differ from each other. For the laboratory scale, it was suggested

the extraction time of 5 days overall, in the continuous process, with boiling water in the

first tank, coming to room temperature in the following ones. However, for the pilot scale

it is suggested the extraction for 10 min, under boiling condition, which is almost

certainly incorrect, because it is too short a time. Besides that, the report on the

“Experiments on the Semi-Pilot Scale”, one main project target, is really succinct, took

half page (p.29 of the Technical Report) and does not give descriptions in adequate detail,

or give equipment dimensions, the experiment place, and so on.

Adhesives

In the studies of adhesive formulation, the absence of a bibliographic review

meant that time and effort were wasted and good results were understandably not

produced. For example, the investigation on the inclusion of sodium silicate and

aluminium chloride (page 36 of Technical Report) was not necessary and is not referred

to any bibliographic material. Another example of the absence of strategic methodology

is the use of bark obtained in the factory yard which was potentially decayed. Tannin

adhesives production requires strict conditions, demanding technical practices and good

raw-materials.

Furthermore, the formulation suggested in the “Conclusion” section (page 39 of

the Technical Report), certainly will not work, in normal plywood factory conditions.

The direct use of formaldehyde in liquid form is too reactive for industrial utilization.

Besides that, the suggestion of pre-heating the glue before application is also harmful for

the same reason. As a general comment there are many inconsistencies in the laboratory

experiments using tannin adhesives. The attempt to extend these studies to the pilot scale,

apparently untried, would lead to failure. It would be even more complex to attempt a

village scale production of adhesive material for plywood or MDF manufacturing. We

can say that this would not succeed at all. And it was one of the project specific

objectives.

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What is possible to see, as far as the tannin extraction and tannin adhesives

studies are concerned, is the choice of an inadequate way of working. The direct trials

without an extensive bibliographic research always prove to be time and energy

consuming with difficulty in reproducing results. Furthermore, the inclusion of a study

trip to CSIRO, in the neighbor country of Australia, at the beginning of the project would

lead to much different results. Although following this suggestion could lead to more

conclusive results, it could not change the structural problem detected in the project

design analysis: the question of setting a village industry to be run by farmers. This is a

problem of project design.

3.1.2 Socioeconomic studies

In the socio-economic survey, there was also detected a misunderstanding in

working methodology. That survey was mostly done through secondary data (by

consultation to local government statistics) and a direct small survey conducted in

February, 2002. The first gave general figures on the number of inhabitants, education,

health and religion, and the second, the direct survey, gave some information on the work

and income of the villages.

What were really the objectives of these two surveys? It was to know the

statistical data of the villages. Would this knowledge lead to the achievement of the

Project Specific Objectives? It would but only partially. The main Project Objective was

to set a small-scale industry in a village for the production of tannin and tannin adhesives.

In that way, the community survey would have to be done in a direct way (obviously with

some support from the already existing statistics) to find out the following aspects:

The village’s social and working organizations;

The leadership capacity of community members;

The financial capacity and possibility of investment by the members and

also the potential for external financing;

Places to locate the industry;

Means of production;

Organizing ways for running the industry;

Channels for commercialization,

Other similar experiences of industries to be run by villager members, and

Various other practical aspects.

This information could not be obtained from the socioeconomic survey realized in

the project.

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3.1.3 Organic Fertilizers Studies

At this point, the project reached its best results and conclusions. Good working

methodology produced sound and replicable outcomes, as a product of a thorough and

detailed experimental work. Above all, the bark for organic fertilizer proposal does not

struggle against the basic contradiction of the project general approach, a village industry

operated by farmers, pointed out in the project design analysis. Here, the specific

objective is plainly attainable by the use of plantation bark for organic fertilizer through

composting. The balanced and harmonic situation is also felt positively in the passage

from lab studies to pilot plant scale. Besides that, from the four components proposed as

project output technologies (tannin extraction, tannin adhesives, organic fertilizer

composting and animal feedstock) the organic fertilizer was the only one that provided an

objectively verifiable indicator: the hole on the ground used for the composting process,

was visited and recorded in pictures by the mission in Teratak Village in the company of

Mr. Kartolo, leader in his community, who used to operate the composting process during

the project.

Nevertheless, although the project was very successful at this point, the

discontinuity of bark composting for fertilizer was observed in the field visit. This was

probably due to the lack of further work after project completion, in addition to the non-

fixed situation of the bark donation by the company to the farmers. This aspect may also

be identified as a project design short-coming, the non-formal assignment of bark supply

to the farmers, which did not help in the production of good project results. This is really

disappointing because this part of the project proved to be sound as far as the

technological aspect is concerned.

3.1.4 Pelleted Feeds

This part of the project has the strong merit of proposing an agricultural use of

bark from plantations, which is likely to be an important route of applied research for the

bark utilization. However the work done in this project was not conclusive, as far as the

field experiments are concerned, which is indicated by the last phrase of the Introduction

of Section 5 in the Technical Report (page 57): “The field experiment has to be carried

out to improve the ruminant production in the area where these barks are available”. It is

possible to identify a minor contradiction at this point of the project. Two of the four

options for the Acacia mangium tree bark utilization take advantage of its high tannin

content, whereas the bark as raw material for pelleted feeds goes in the opposite direction,

since the tannin presence is harmful. This is mentioned in the “Discussion”, Section 5 of

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the Technical Report (page 59): “The high tannin content in the feeds cause a decrease in

protein digestibility since tannin binds protein and makes protein unavailable for rumen

degradation … therefore, the presence of tannin should be minimized”. The solution for

this problem was the utilization of bark after tannin extraction, what was done in the

project experiments with significant results, especially after treating the extracted bark

with sodium hydroxide, at a concentration of 3 or 4%. This solution for the problem

would restrict the use of extracted bark as the raw material for the preparation of pelleted

feeds, what is a disadvantage, as it implies necessarily to start the process of tannin

extraction.

From the Technical Report, this part of the project was the one with the most

intensive work, including sophisticated laboratory techniques for assessment of dry

matter digestibility. However, after a considerable amount of well done laboratory work,

the conclusion seems to be too conservative as stated on page 64 of the Technical Report,

“In a complete diet for goats, the treated barks can be included at the level of 10 %”. This

level of utilization could not be significant in terms of local farmers in the villages nearby

the plantation by PT Sumalindo. In addition, it should be kept in mind that those farmers

run subsistence production and the animals are fed with normal elephant planted grass,

which is the cheapest and easiest way of animal feeding in those conditions.

3.1.5 Other technologies:

- Charcoal brickets, activated carbon, nursery blocks and growth medium of

mushroom.

These four products and their derivations were not included in the original project

design. They were inserted in the mid of project execution to fill the possible

technologies bucket for the tree bark utilization, as a complement for the attainment of

the project development objective.

A general comment applying to these products is that the research was done with

good and sound technical methodology but without due concern to the market demands

or to the potentiality of those products to be made and traded by the farmers of Teratak

Village. There follows specific comments for the proposal of those technologies for the

community utilization.

The charcoal made from tree bark is known to be weak and friable, demanding its

preparation into brickets for their possible extensive utilization. This is done with the

addition of a binding material (adhesive of tapioca flour) and an additive (potassium

nitrate), and a simple pressing system in die form, followed by drying. While the

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carbonization process is fast, 3 to 4 hours, which is good, the bricketing process takes too

long as presented in the report, 10 min of pressing and 24 hour for drying, which

decreases the productivity and increases labor. Another shortcoming of the proposal is

the demand for trading the product outside the village in the cities, where there are

competitive materials like the coconut shell charcoal of good heating power.

The charcoal for the preparation of plant media could be a good alternative for

the use of bark by the community. However, the high demand would come from the side

of PT. Sumalindo that needs the seedlings. If the company has the bark and, at the same

time, demands the plant media for the seedlings preparation, it would be much easier for

them to make the charcoal and the plant media on its own. In that way they would not

depend on the possibly unstable production and uncertain quality that could come from

the village production.

The activated carbon produced in laboratory conditions from the Acacia

mangium bark is effective for the treatment of the water from the local river and wells to

reduce heavy metal concentrations. However, it must be said, that, the activation

technique is rather complex when considering the skills of the community members, who

are basically farmers. Besides that, it should also be said, that, the use of chemicals, and

high temperatures, 500 to 700 oC, is not good from a health, and environmental point of

view. In addition, it should be observed that local standard parameters for activated

carbon were not attained by the product made of bark, as mentioned on the page 70 of the

Report (Table 4), which could produce difficulties in trading the material.

In the case of nursery blocks, the research execution team showed good and

sound methodology, producing significant results for the use of the decayed barks

obtained at the factory site, where there is plenty of that material. The idea is quite

original and has great potential as a technology to be diffused to the villages. The

techniques are easy, the equipment is simple and can be operated by the farmers, and the

materials are, in general, not harmful for the health or for the environment. They are:

tannin-formaldehyde, clay, cassava flour, urea-formaldehyde, rubber latex (as bonding

agents), wood flour, zeolite, dolomite and sodium ligno sulfonate (as additives). The

blocks would be used for seedlings formation for the forest plantations. If these

plantations are to be formed by their own communities, this idea has a great potential of

success. If they are the company’s ones, again the idea lacks sustainability, as was

explained for the growth media, two paragraphs before. Problems of sustainability could

rise also if it demanded entrepreneur, financial and marketing characteristics from village

producers. In this case a consistent help of specialized government agencies would be

most welcome.

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3.2 Effectiveness

For ease of quotation, there follows the PD 58/99 title, development objective and

specific objectives:

- Title: “Introduction of a village industry in the community around an industrial

forest plantation in Indonesia”

- “The overall objective of this project is to discover the procedures and the

equipment needed to use the bark of Acacia mangium, Eucalyptus spp., and

Paraserianthes falcataria as byproducts in the wood industry related to the

Industrial Forest Plantations to produce valuable and useful material such as

tannin, adhesive material, pelleted feed and fertilizer. The technology introduced

will be simple and suitable to be operated by the villagers around the wood

industry as a village industry”.

- The two specific objectives:

- “To develop a procedure and to design equipment to produce tannin,

adhesive material, fertilizer, and pelleted feed from the bark of Acacia

mangium, Eucalyptus spp. and Paraserianthes falcataria on a laboratory

scale.”

- “To establish a pilot plant to produce tannin, adhesive material, pelleted

feed and fertilizer from the bark of those species that can be operated by

villagers.”

Taking into account the two specific objectives, especially the second, and above

all, the unequivocal target stamped in the project title, it is not possible to say that PD

58/99 was effective. Notwithstanding the high level and considerable work done in the

laboratory for all products and also under pilot and semi-pilot scale, for some products,

nothing of the project is being left in the field. However, if the first specific objective is

taken on its own, there is a great deal of study, technology development, experience and

expertise that is of merit in this project, which can be considered rather fertile for

laboratory research. The knowledge acquired by the researchers and their accumulated

experience are effectively there, certainly in a diffuse condition, but available if needed.

In some sense this is already happening in a project financed by a private pulp and

paper company, which contracted the the PD 58/99 coordinator to develop a system for

the treatment of the chemical process sludge, a procedure which, certainly, demands

16

expertise and skills obtained in the execution of the project under ex-post evaluation. The

fact that a private group asked for the consultation is significant as the work has to be

much more focused and objective than normally happens with government financed

projects. In that way, in a broad sense, the ITTO funding of PD 58/99 was indirectly

effective in promoting the Indonesian technological development in these fields of action

encountered in the project under evaluation.

It is also possible to say that the executing team met problems of research and

development methodology in the specific case of tannin extracts and tannin adhesives,

which is, in part, responsible for the weak results of the project in this area. It is also

possible to foresee that, as a consequence of the project results in this case, the subject of

tannin extractives and adhesives is very likely, unfortunately, to make little progress, in a

field of unquestionable importance to Indonesia.

3.3 Impacts and Effects

The execution of Project PD 58/99, during almost fifty months and a budget of

more than US$ 450 thousand produced solid objective outputs, verified in place, and also

some subjective results. These all are listed here:

a) The strengthening of the research team, which is facing now another challenge,

working directly with a pulp and paper private company in Sumatra. Basically, it

is the treatment of the pulp production sludge to allow it to be used as fertilizer at

the company’s own plantation. The project comprises basic research, analysis and

development of the treatment process, and so on. An adequate comprehension of

the problem and a good project design will lead to success and may also lead to an

international contribution to the very important environment and utilization issue

of the pulping sludge. This reality is a direct result of the project PD 58/99.

b) The development of local knowledge in the technology of tannin extraction −

which, in basic terms is already known and well defined − has already started in

the Country. This project result will certainly be of much help, if a company

needs this know-how.

c) The proposal for forestry plantation barks to be used for composting and organic

fertilizers, which is prone to have a good impact for the community, still needs

some work to be prepared for the diffusion to the farmers, since it is specialized

17

work. It should be suggested to the executing agency to continue with this work in

this sense, until the technology is spread and dominated by the users.

d) The widening of utilization of forestry plantation barks: as ingredients for feeding

stock preparation, nursery blocks and charcoal briquettes. These technologies

need further research work to be developed under pilot scales. This will lead to

the diversified use of forest plantation byproducts, increasing plantation

profitability.

e) The enlargement of the possibilities of work and income for rural communities

around forestry industrial plantations causing the strengthening of project social

benefits.

f) The bringing of the farmers community around forestry plantations issue to the

agenda of forest research and development.

3.4 Lessons learned and questions

This rich experience of project evaluation has surely produced some lessons

learned, as such, but also some questions for reflection and a suggestion that is worth

registering. There follow two lessons and two questions. Some suggestions are also put

forward under Recommendations. They are only pointed out here, but their complete

understanding requires the reading of the complete report, especially section 4.

a) A problem of misunderstanding bringing about an unsatisfactory approach, which

led, in turn, to an inadequate project design, producing considerable difficulties in

the restructuring of the project during its execution.

Comment by the Indonesian Ministry of Forestry Comment:

The project was executed very well in term of formulation of the methods for

producing tannin, adhesive material, organic fertilizer and pelleted feeds. The project

also discovered the alternative products such as nursery blocks, charcoal and active

charcoal, and handicraft. Up to this stage, the project design seemed to be all right.

Yet the problems come up during socialization of the technologies to the

communities, because of several reasons such as:

i) Changing the ownership of the industry that has established partnership with the

project which consequently changes the commitment between the project and the

industry

18

ii) Changing the raw material of the factory from Acacia mangium to Gmelina

arborea, as a result, the acacia bark was only found in very small quantity, about

5 – 10 %, in the waste bark. This matter has been noticed by the evaluator during

the visit to the site

iii) Changing the policy of using the waste bark as a source of energy in the power

station, instead of treating the bark as a waste that could be utilized for organic

fertilizer.

During the visit to the site, the farmers were still making compost from agricultural

residue, instead of from acacia bark which they were not able to obtain.

In terms of sustainability of the project, from the executing agency site, the project

coordinator applied the knowledge and technology of composting generated by the

project to make the compost from the wasted sludge of pulp and paper industries in

Indonesia. The objective of the research was to provide industries, government

regulators and the public with information on the effect of paper mill sludge

application on agricultural and forest land. At the moment, Biotrop, is the leading

institution in the research of composting and land spreading of the sludge of pulp and

paper industries. Biotrop has made cooperation with several leading pulp and paper

industries such as PT Indahkiat Pulp and Paper Perawang, Serang and Tanggerang

Mill; PT Riau Andalan Pulp and Paper Mill, PT Pindo Deli Pulp and Paper Mill; and

PT Lontar Papyrus Pulp and Paper Industry.

The evaluator’s answer

The evaluator’s opinion remains unchanged.

a) The project was successful in terms of laboratory results and poor in technology

diffusion and, above all, there is no actual industry happening in the villages as the

project clearly stated was the primary aim.

b) The laboratory research on tannin has to be reviewed, in the evaluator’s point of

view, as pointed out in Sub-section 2.3 (Efficiency and Operational Aspects), part

2.3.1 (Tannin extraction process and tannin adhesives). This Section was more

recently written at the request of ITTO for clarification of the first draft, and was not

in the draft which the Ministry of Forestry took knowledge. This dos not change my

opinion. It has been pointed out clearly that a problem of work methodology raised

the difficulties which hindered the attainment of good laboratory results on these two

subjects, tannin extracts and tannin adhesives.

c) A methodology misunderstand was also pointed out in the socio-economic surveys,

making it clear that these matters were not the expertise of the executing team.

d) The Sub-section 2.3 in its parts 2.3.3 , 2.3.4 , and 2.3.5 fully recognize the good

scientific and technological methodology of work and the good and plentiful basket

of laboratory results in technologies and production techniques of the project.

e) The evaluator does not take into a great consideration the change of the company

ownership as the explanation for the poor attainment of Specific Objective 2. The

evaluation mission had an appointment with the general manager of PT Sumalindo at

19

that site, Mr. Kee Hack CHEON, who didn’t know the project, neither its results nor

had a copy of the Technical Report. And he was in that position before the project

started. The problem was not in the company ownership change but rather in the

institutional arrangement for the project execution, which did not include a formal

commitment for the donation of the bark by the company to the communities.

f) The comments (ii) and (iii) of the Ministry of Forestry just favors the view that the

project execution in the field was not preceded by a more complete characterization

of the bark, in terms of composition and utilization, which should include the formal

positioning of the company policy for the bark industrial destination.

g) All these comments strengthen the opinion that a problem of object (taken as a

complete matter: the bark, the company and the community) misunderstanding

resulting an inappropriate project design was responsible for the unequivocal poor

output under Specific Objective 2.

b) The execution body went beyond its remit, technology development, in trying to

play a role in technology diffusion, and rural social promotion. In an awkward

position, the coordinator found himself in a situation of trying to sell products

made in a pilot scale, such as nursery blocks, which is not his field of work.

Comment by the Indonesian Ministry of Forestry Comment:

In term of “nursery block”, the idea of making nursery blocks comes from the project

which were made from composted bark and clay. However, the coordinator modified

the formulae of making nursery blocks which consist of coco peat, compost and

commercially adhesive material. This formula was discovered and created by the

coordinator of the project for commercial purposes. The problems encountered in

producing the nursery blocks in large scale such as funds needed to establish a small

scale factory.

The evaluator’s answer

The evaluator keeps his opinion that the project Coordinator had to work outside of

his expertise (which was commented on by himself during the main evaluation

meeting), trying to open trade channels for the project products, what is a great sign

of professional commitment. The contribution of the development of new technology

for nursery blocks is also recognized but does not affect the view that the project was

reach of research results (Specific Objective 1) and poor in the village industrial

production of a project outcome (Specific Objective 2 and target of Project title).

20

c) A question shall be put forward for reflection: is the ITTO expert panel

methodology of work the safest way to appraise project proposals in general?

d) A second appropriate question: are the mechanism and procedures of the ITTO

steering committee meetings effective for all kinds of projects and situations?

This project was the subject of six meetings and could not change the route of

execution of the project. It was not a question of who was at the meeting, its

methodology of work or meeting length, but it was a structural question as the

problem was in the project design, as mentioned in “a”.

Comment by the Indonesian Ministry of Forestry Comment:

The ITTO Steering Committee Meeting had done a lot to make the project running in

order. For instance, the steering committee supports the project in producing other

products such as nursery blocks, charcoal and active charcoal, and handicraft from the

Acacia waste bark, aside from the main products such as tannin, tannin based

adhesive material, organic fertilizer, and pelleted feeds.

The evaluator’s answer

The evaluator keeps his opinion that the obviously important work and meetings of

the Steering Committee could not change the general project result, as far as the

partial attainment of Specific Objective 2 is concerned, as it was a structural problem

of project design. The attainment of Specific Objective 1 was done well and that was

already recognized by the evaluator.

4. Conclusions and Recommendations 4.1 General appraisal on PD 58/99

The original proposal was to develop technologies and products to use the bark

already available from the plantations by the company PT Sumalindo. The wood from

those trees feeds two factories, an MDF and a plywood veneer mill in the municipality of

Muara Kaman, East Kalimatan. The technologies would be transferred to the villages

around the plantations to generate income and labor for the community members. All

together 8 products and technologies with 2 derivations were developed, studied and/or

adapted to fill that purpose.

Project Products Resume:

21

There follows a resume of the products and technologies developed by Project PD

58/99 and the possibility of being used by the village community.

Non advisable production technologies for community diffusion: all those that

demand one or more of the following:

- Entrepreneur and managerial capacity in complex situations

- External financing of medium to high values

- Complex skills to manage technological work

- Complex or large physical structures

- Strong marketing capacity

- Skills and conditions for handling chemicals and harmful process

In that way the following products should not be put into the hands of the farmers

village of Teratak, near PT Sumalindo MDF plant:

- Tannin extracts

- Tannin adhesives

- Activated carbon

Products with adequate technology but difficult in commercialization:

- Charcoal brikets

- Nursery blocks

Products with good potential in technology but of too low demand to build up a

high volume of bark utilization:

- Mushroom growth media

Pellet feed stock has a reasonable technology but shows weak competitiveness in

comparison to normal plant grass.

Organic fertilizer through composting is the product of adequate and simple

technology, high demand of bark as raw-material, low need of external financing, high

local demand from the farmers themselves, who could then improve agricultural

productivity, facility of marketing, flexibility in the production scale, possibility of a

producers’ association to enhance the scale, and other advantages.

22

4.2 Recommendations At this point, some recommendations are put forward. Four of them are directly

related to PD 58/99 Ex-post evaluation, and two are a result of reflection from the

evaluation process, which are registered for possible future pondering.

The strongest result from this project is the study on the composting for the

production of organic fertilizer, as far as the bark utilization by communities is

concerned. It is a significant contribution. It needs further work in two directions: in

the technology diffusion and in the expansion and exploration of possibilities of

application. Hence it should be continued in some way, or financed by ITTO, in a

second phase project (see specific comment below) or by the local government. This

project output has every possibility to be an important contribution to the tree bark

utilization issue.

The studies on tannin extraction and adhesives should be revised under the light of a

specific bibliographic review for possible reorientation or partial consolidation of the

work done. It is a certainty that there will be further research into this and other

utilizations of tree bark and how to maximize the economic returns of plantations.

The trend of the use of natural products, in innumerous industrial products, will lead

to a greater use of natural tanning in leather production, while the use of wood board

tannin formaldehyde adhesives is already a reality in many countries.

All the project technology outcomes should be the object of more technical diffusion

at the local (Bogor), national or regional levels.

As a result of the PD 58/99 outputs and project rationale, the plantation of black

wattle or black acacia, Acacia mearnsii (syn. Molissima) should be researched with

an eye to its inclusion in the Indonesian forest plantations program.

The building of a talent database, including all consultants, scientific and

technological personnel linked to every ITTO financed project, should be considered.

This could be extended for international and free consultation, if it is agreed by the

participants. In that way a model of specific CV for the database should be prepared.

If the last recommendation is followed, there could be established a screening system

for the project proposals. Through this system the proposals should be seen by two ad

hoc consultants, working possibly for free, especially to carry out a preliminary

analysis of the proposals prior to the expert panel appreciation, to verify the project

design, the whole project approach, and its possibility of success. If, for instance, two

such consultants, working independently, agreed on a project approach and design,

this project would have much more chance of success than of failure.

23

A further recommendation for consideration is the creation of a “consultation

proposal” to be considered by ITTO before a full project is written. In this simple

document, there would be included the structure of the project proposal, containing

the minimum elements to allow a first look of the proposal. These could include:

background information, the problem, the project approach and design, the executing

team, specific objectives and outputs, and budget, all of them in a shortened form, not

extending more than two to three pages.

This consultation proposal would circulate to two independent consultants who would

express their opinion on the suitability and potential of the proposal on a preliminary

basis. This would be returned by ITTO staff to the person responsible for the proposal,

not as an approval, but as a green light to go ahead in the preparation of a complete

document, which would then be considered in full by the ITTO. This would save

much time in project preparation.

4.3 Specific recommendation on the proposal for the second phase During the evaluation process, the proposal made by the executing agency to

constitute a second phase for this Project 58/99 became known. Unfortunately, the view

of the evaluator was that it contained the same flaws as the original project and, if

implemented, would probably finish with the same results of PD 58/99. A suggestion

therefore is to reformulate the proposal, taking into consideration the analysis of this ex-

post evaluation report, assuming this analysis and report receive the approval of the ITTO

Forest Industry Committee Meeting.

24

ANNEX

A proposal of a diagram for general project Analysis

V. The diagram

VI. Increasing the probability of a project success

VII. The application of the diagram and rationale to PD 58/99

VIII. The analysis of the project under evaluation

I. The diagram

The diagram presented here is being used by me in university classes as a tool for

project proposal and analysis. It is largely a way of splitting out the major elements

present in a project. By separating them and focusing one by one, it becomes easier to

understand each element’s intrinsic characteristics and conditions. A second step is the

comprehension of relationships between the six axes. It is a useful aid in addition to other

instruments of project formulation. Naturally, it also comes as an aid to the well prepared

ITTO methodology of project formulations and evaluation. It can be said that the use of

this tool helps to clarify the problem and other elements, prior to the fitting of the project

into the ITTO Manual.

The domain

The object (of work)

The subject (player or actor)

Objectives (of the system)

The approach, the project and its execution in time

The problem

25

_________________________________________________________________

Figure 1: the general diagram

Before describing the six axes, it should be pointed out that the names of two axes

in Portuguese, “sujeito” and “objeto” have clear meanings and describe well their

function. “Sujeito” is the actor and executor of the action exercised on an “objeto”, which

is the matter of work. In English, both words are not as unequivocal. Subject is also the

actor but the word is largely used as matter, theme and topic, bringing about some

confusion with the object itself. As a matter of fact, one normal working dictionary,

Michaelis, gives as one of the meanings for the translations for the Portuguese words

“sujeito” and “objeto” exactly the same three English words: subject, matter and topic.

Even though, the two words subject and object were kept for the “sujeito” and “objeto”,

following professional translation suggestions. The axes can be defined as follows:

The Domain is the universe of the action, where subject and object exist and a

problem is identified and a project is formulated to solve the problem.

Subject is the group of actors and executors that undertake the action, qualified

by their potentiality as well as limitations. The subject comprises persons and

institutions with their working conditions including the resources, ability for

management of resources, capabilities, expertise, history, etc.

Object is the set or group of things that are matter of the action by the subject or

actor. It includes things, persons, systems, conditions and so on.

The fourth axis of the diagram, on the same plane, represents the Objectives,

which is the vector resulting from the relationships between the three previous

axes of the plane, the domain, the subject and the object. These are the system

objectives and not the ones related to the project itself. The first determines the

second, or the system objectives drive and allow the subject in finding a problem

and answering by proposing a project with objectives selected by considering the

objectives of the system among other conditions.

The axis that is perpendicular to the plane brings, on one side, is The Problem,

which is a broad term meaning a real problem or a condition or situation, not a

problem as such, that demands attention and action to give desirable results or to

avoid a future problem.

26

On this same axis, on its opposite direction, crossing the plane defined by domain,

subject, object and objectives, is the answer to the problem. This is represented by

The Approach, a general positioning allowable by the system tackling the

problem and the correspondent Project, which is largely the organization of

inputs, activities, outputs and so on. On this same axis is also the Project

Execution in the Dimension of Time, clearing in mind the notion that the four

axes of the plane are not fixed and can changed as time goes by due to their

intrinsic live conditions as well as the interaction between them.

II. Increasing the probability of a project success

Naturally the above definitions are extremely subjective and the diagram shall be

understood as a general scheme and simplification of the elements present in a project or

plan. Further, some conditions that increase the probability of a project success could be

listed. A more complete list would be even larger :

- a full understanding of the problem in all dimensions, intrinsic and external

characteristics, reasons for its existence and conditions for changing and so on;

- the knowledge, as deep and complete as possible, of the four elements on the

plane related to that problem: domain, subject, object and objectives,

including their dynamic interrelationships;

- the harmonious and adequate interaction between them; some questions that

may help: does the object belong to the domain? Is the subject the most

capable one, within the specific domain, to cope with the problem arisen? Are

the system objectives sufficiently clear to drive the project design and

execution?

- the adequate management of inputs and activities in the dimension of time;

- permanently checking the project objectives in connection with the objectives

of the system, taking into account that the system is dynamic and changes

occur;

- the attention to these changes and what else can affect the balance between the

four elements of the plane and the implementation of the project objectives.

Normally the action of tackling a problem and offering a solution in the form of a

project is a rather spontaneous process. As long as we work and act consciously and

consistently in the whole sequence, as demonstrated in the following general pattern we

will increase the chance ofsuccess:

27

- a problem is identified: we try to define its boundaries and, as much as

possible, we go deep into the comprehension of the problem, its intrinsic

characteristics and its relationships with its environment, paying special attention

to the reasons that bring about and govern the problem;

- a second step: the identification and understanding of the four elements on the

plane: the domain, or the universe which comprises subject and object; the subject

who is facing, or is proposing himself to tackle the problem, or who is in a

position to act; the object where the problem materializes itself: and finally the

objectives that link subject and object under that domain;

- the comprehension of these four elements in themselves and in the dynamic

relationships between them is the proper condition for one to propose the best

approach to that problem;

- the best approach, i.e. the best answer taking into account the four elements in

a dynamic way, is the basis for the project;

- finally, a good project design is in a condition to be set forward;

- following this rationale, an adequate execution is possible and will lead to the

proposed and sustainable solution for the problem, increasing the equilibrium and

strength of the system.

The following diagram summarizes the pattern described, from problem to

solution and the opening of new problems.

_______________________________________________________________

A problem is identified

The adequate understanding of the four elements related to that

problem: domain, subject, object and objectives of the whole system

The best approach for problem resolution

A good project design

A well fitted execution

The consecution of project objectives

The problem solution with sustainability

28

Increase in strength and balance of the system

More conditions to open and face more problems

Opening new problems

_______________________________________________________________

Figure 2: a general pattern – from problem to solution and the opening of new problems

III. The application of the diagram and rationale to PD 58/99

Coming back to the Project PD 58/99 ex-post evaluation, the axis diagram and its

explanations were inserted in this report as an aid to answer the following question: “why

could the main project objective, as stated in its own title, not be achieved?”

Naturally, the description of the diagram axis and elements is rather subjective.

From the infinite possibilities, the one considered the most adequate has to be considered.

In that way, the following general picture can be suggested.

_______________________________________________________________

The domain: ITTO, Indonesian

forestry sector

The object (of work):, community. village, bark technologies, company

The subject (player or actor): S.-Biotrop, Coordinator, executing team qualified by conditions, inputs etc.

The system objectives: ITTO objectives, development of Indonesian forestry sector, etc.

The approach and the project (and its execution in time): development. of technology and equipments for bark utilization on lab and pilot scale and transfer technology to the community village

The problem: waste bark, an environmental. problem as potential for community income generation

29

Figure 3: the application of the general diagram

The problem – the existence of bark from plantations, which, as waste, is

an environmental problem, but could be used in a productive way, forming a

solution to the problem while generating income for the usually poor community,

living around the plantations. That could also be a nice partial solution for the

contradiction “a late and poor community being environmentally stressed by

surrounding plantations (to feed an advanced industrial process of a rich

company), without any benefit”.

The domain – the Indonesian forestry sector, which is moving fast to tree

plantations for the supply of the wood based industry; ITTO as a major player in

the international forestry scenario as project financing body as well an interested

party in the creation of income and jobs for traditional communities.

The subject – SEAMEO-BIOTROP; the researcher in charge of one of its

laboratories, who became the project coordinator; other laboratories of the same

institution; other researchers enrolled as consultants.

The object – the acacia and eucalyptus barks themselves, as direct object of work;

the set of technologies already existing for the exploitation of these residues; the

community village, as the addressee and receiver of the technologies to be

developed, or, in some cases, rather adapted; PT Sumalindo, the owner of the

plantations and of the bark, in this approach, as part of the object and not as part

of the subject.

The objectives – these include the objectives of: SEAMEO-BIOTROP, the

involved researchers, and ITTO.

The approach – the development and adaptation of technologies for industrial

and rural utilization of waste bark from tree plantations, to be supplied to village

communities around plantations to generate income and jobs for them.

The project – making use of that bark (acacia and eucalyptus), developing and

adapting technologies on a lab scale for tannin, tannin adhesives, fertilizers (by

composting techniques) and feed stock for animals; building up the equipment for

pilot scale production and locating them in the village to be run by the community,

mostly as an industrial undertaking.

30

IV. The analysis of the project under evaluation

a) Although the problem arising is absolutely right and appropriately well

inserted in the domain, and in accordance with the system objectives as a

whole, a better and more accurate view of the picture make apparent the

inadequacy between the subject, the object and the approach, and therefore,

the inadequacy of the project design itself.

b) Within the object, three major contradictions can be detected, leading to

the project failure, as in fact happened: the first – the community around

the factory cannot simply be changed from primary and subsistence farmers,

working in a family basis, to industry runners. From one to the other, there

are at least two or three steps to climb in the social development sequence.

This contradiction hinders the achievement of the objective, at all or in a

sustainable manner, even in a project second phase; the second – the bark

is an intrinsic part of the plantation, and, as such, it is property of the

company. If at the project starting point, the bark was available for the

research work, and was also a possibility for the village utilization, this

condition could be changed with redirection of the company priorities; the

third – the technology and utilization pattern of the bark taken as a fixed

condition, as waste in the field and an environmental issue, which was prone

to change again with any change of priorities by the company. In fact, the

bark started to be used as a complementary fuel for the industry boiler. It

should be noted that these two last contradictions could be attenuated if,

from the proposal stage, PT Sumalindo had been part of the subject, a

condition to be consolidated by signing a document favoring the bark

donation to the community. Even though, the word used above, attenuated,

is well employed.

c) As regards the subject, at least one contradiction has been detected, also

leading to project difficulty or failure: the executing team is specialized in

technological development and not in social promotion. The proposal of

industry technology diffusion for farmer communities is a rather difficult

task, demanding specialized institutions and teams, with adequate expertise.

It should be noted that within the subject institution, SEAMEO – BIOTROP,

there is expertise in rural social promotion, but could not be employed due

to constraints caused by the first contradiction in “b”.

31

d) Still regarding the subject, but not meaning a contradiction in itself, but

rather a major difficulty, is the question of technology development and

making this to bring about a real and sustainable change in the reality of the

object. Obviously this is the matter of work of so many professionals and

continues to be of utmost importance, but it is always a difficult target to

achieve. Even though, it is essential that we keep trying, but by accurately

selecting the problem, domain, subject, object and approach for the project

as a solution of the problem.

e) A logistic condition within the project, the distance between the subject (the

executing body) and two terms of the object (the bark yard in the factory

and the community), even without being a project contradiction, built a

strong constraint in its execution.

IV. An alternative route to tackle the problem

Following the same pattern of reasoning, one can think about alternative

approaches for the same problem and object, under the same domain, with possible

changes in the subject and in the project objectives. Let us come to a main driving

question: what is really the problem to be addressed? The question is not so easy to

answer. Normally, one helpful tool in general methodology is to separate one issue into

its main components and think about each one separately. So let us split the original

problem in parts, which in this case, can be three:

1) The bark: what is in fact the question? The Indonesian forestry sector has

already moved in the direction of plantation forests in order to satisfy the needs of

industry. The government plan is to plant around twelve million of hectares by the

middle of the next decade. In this way, the species selection for the program

becomes very important. Project PD 58/99 raised the issue: the acacia species

provides a very interesting option because of the bark chemical utilization, as

tannin, rather than being employed strictly for energy purposes. The composting

way for the production of important organic fertilizers is also, in some sense,

better than the energy option if one considers the social and environmental aspects

of the whole issue. In both cases, the project proposal shall be preceded by

previous studies on bark conditions, possibilities of changes in the original

situation, and the already existing technologies for the specific target products. A

specific study on acacias should be undertaken, previous to the start of the project

if it is to be short, or as a project output, to be more complete, widening the

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options for plantation species. Brazil offers an interesting case: more than 100

thousand hectares of black wattle or black acacia, Acacia mearnsii de Wild, which

can be cut in 7 years, with the following production per hectare: 200 stereo m3 of

wood, 20 stereo m3 of firewood, 17 tons of bark for tannin extraction, used in the

leather production and for wood panel adhesives. There are only four tannin

exporting countries: South Africa, Brazil, Chile and China.

2) The company: PT Sumalindo is a traditional group of the wood industry sector

in Indonesia. As usually happens, a company is more immerse in its problems of

production, economic balance, and so on, than bringing to the agenda specific

issues that are not causing problems, like it seems to be the case of the bark in the

yard. It can be used for energy or can be left in the field, waiting for some

solution, and so on, but in the meantime becoming an environment question. This

part of the problem demands a closer approach to the company in order to know

its thinking and what is being planned for the bark. It was already mentioned that

the company should migrate to become part of the subject. This could be a major

change in the project design which would add significantly to the execution as a

whole. The company is obviously interested in coming closer to studies that will

find possible technology and market to give a destination to its tree plantation

byproducts. Another aspect that has to be brought to the talks, among other things,

is a better understanding of what are the company’s commitments on the social

field, especially with neighbor villages which are also homes for their employees.

3) The communities around the plantation: this focus of the project PD 85/99 is

quite important and very up to date in Indonesia as well as other countries with

forestry plantations. From native forest to plantation, and agriculture too, there is

a loss in environmental aspects in several levels and degrees, negatively reflecting

on the communities around the plantations. These losses should be compensated

in some way, in addition to the important but rather vague and uncertain gain in

the form of jobs and indirect reaches for the communities. These actions shall be

of government initiative but with a strong component and decided participation by

those who obtain direct benefits from the plantations, in this case, the companies.

Initiatives like this will revert in gains to every one: the community, the company

and the government, and are becoming more and more common all over the world.

The compensations can be of several kinds and degrees, including health,

education, sports, art, leisure and training, among others. One of the project target

products, organic fertilizer through composting of the bark, is a real interesting

alternative, since it can replace commercial synthetic fertilizers that are expensive

and unaffordable for the communities, who do not use such fertilizers, rendering

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poor yield in the crops, with bad consequences of recalling effect and so on. The

organic fertilizer is also an environmental friendly option.

If in the diagram, the domain, the object (partially) and the objectives of the

system continue to be the same, the subject and the approach – and finally the project and

its design – would have to be modified. The subject, although continuing essentially the

BIOTROP team, would incorporate, first, actions by the company PT Sumalindo, with its

formal commitments assuring and favoring the application of project results, and, second,

rural social promotion professionals, possibly found in the same executing agency or in

other agriculture institutions set in Bogor.

In this hypothetical rethinking of the whole problem, as a matter of theoretical

analysis, the approach itself would have to be really modified, taking into account all the

criticism already exercised in this report. Tannin and tannin adhesives could be part of

the target products, but not to be industrially made by the community, but by some

private body, possibly the company itself or in a joint venture with other entities. The

villages would be addressed in this “new project”, with better and more conclusive work

on the bark composting. In the final picture, they would receive bark in natura or already

exhausted from the tannin, in this case, a bit poorer in organic compounds extracted in

the process. Finally, the company would supply the bark, delivering it to the farmers – as

they do not have any sustainable condition to take it from the bark yard – to make the

compost or already made into a fertilizer in an industrial process, with gain of efficiency,

quality and so on. The finding of the options would be matter of the project research, with

the company word being well taken into consideration, as in this case they would be part

of the project executing body itself. Other parts of the project as done in its real execution

could continue to be included in this new hypothetic design, but with some modification

in research methodology, bringing more focus, work and attention to what are really

proposed as project outputs, going to the end in each product. Besides the important work

of the steering committee, a directive board could be suggested, closer to the project

execution, what would give better cadency and consequence to the project coordination.

ITTO PD 58/99

END OF EX-POST EVALUATION FINAL REPORT

Floriano Pastore Jr.

Brasília, 11th

of August, 2007.